How do you see imaging transforming the development of novel therapies?
"On every level in the fight against diseases, from the patients themselves down to the molecular level, a powerful or even critical step in the process has been to “see the enemy” in order to accurately identify the relevant targets and to appropriately engage them with investigational therapeutics. Nearly all modern therapeutic breakthroughs have been accompanied hand-in-hand with targeted, validated, disease-specific molecular imaging techniques on some level."
What transformative breakthroughs will help drive further developments in precision medicine?
"The molecular techniques (regarding DNA, RNA, targeted drug design, etc.) I studied in school are only now significantly making their way into clinical diagnostics and practice, but their effect is as field-altering as the introduction of antibiotics was last century. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity are profoundly improved; the ability to monitor biological disease processes is markedly better; the design of novel, safer, and better tolerated treatments has a clearer, more efficient path. Applying artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to these technologies should provide a synergy to bring the next revolution in medical science, which I am excited to see unfold. "
What scientist (past or present) do you admire and why?
"This is a tough one. There are and have been so many admirable scientists – and that fact reflects the true nature and beauty of science. I will settle on a couple that I have had the good fortune to encounter early in my life. Dr. Dale Cowan, an insightful and forward-looking oncologist, generously hired me to work in his research lab during my summer vacations starting when I was 15 years old. He clearly set my path forward. Dr. Ora Rosen, my Ph.D. advisor, personified the three pillars of outstanding science; rigor, insight, and passion for science. Her remarkable wisdom set the standard for the rest of my career. "
